You Are So Worth Loving
by Abluenotebook
Summary: The story of how Tonks and Remus fell for each other. All the denial, and pain all tied together. Who knew that it all started out with a broken time turner?
1. Chapter 1

The spell zoomed across the room hitting it's target, who stumbled back. She struggled to stay on her feet, everything becoming a blur. But she couldn't let herself fall, she had to keep fighting. She latched onto the sounds around her, trying to fight through whatever spell had hit her. Yells and screams echoed around her, and a helpless feeling began to grow deep inside her. Before she was able to do anything else, she stumbled and fell, the sounds fading away.

XXX

"Nymphadora!" Something was shaking her, and it sounded so far away. "Nymphadora!" It yelled again, this time much closer.

"Wha?" She mumbled, opening her eyes and seeing double.

"Get up! Tonks we need to move!" Slowly Remus Lupin came to, looking panicked and rushed. He was pulling her up and trying to get her to move, but she couldn't figure out why.

Groggily, she stood and began to stumble after the older man. Glancing back quickly she saw why he had been so desperate to get her to move. Two big, cloaked death eaters were heading in their direction. Widening her eyes she picked up her pace, but stopped abruptly. Her leg hurt too much for her to put too much pressure on it. Remus seemed to notice because he quickly grabbed her side and pulled her arm over his shoulders.

They hobbled along until one of their pursuers fired a spell. Luckily it missed the both of them, but Tonks had jumped in fright when it passed her head causing them both of them to fall. When she had fallen Tonks noticed a sharp pain in her other shoulder and was too busy trying to keep from loosing consciousness to do anything else. She idly heard Remus fire a spell of his own before grabbing her again and pulling her up.

They began running again, down another hall away in the ministry. Even though she worked here, Tonks had a hard time even finding the bathroom so she wasn't much help when it came to trying to find an exit. Tonks was now breathing heavily, and was eager to get away from the death eaters following them. "Lupin," she gasped. "Let's hide." They couldn't keep running forever, she wouldn't make it.

"Where?" He growled, frustrated.

Tonks looked about desperately trying to figure out where they were. "Left?"

Remus followed her instructions, taking a left and continuing down the long hallway.

"Right," Tonks said again. "On the left should be a door." Or at least she hoped.

Remus turned and saw the door. Quickly he ripped it open and threw them selfs in before closing the door behind them. He gently put Tonks down on the ground of what looked like an abandoned storage closet, then rushed to the door and placed his ear against it. He stayed there for awhile before turning to Tonks.

"What hurts?" He asked.

"My ankle," she leaned forward grabbing it. "And my shoulder."

Remus gripped his wand and brought it closer to her leg.

"Woah, woah, woah. Do you even know what you're doing?" Tonks was slightly weary about Remus' healing skills. It wasn't very long ago that she'd met him, she wasn't sure how good he was at this.

He only gave her a look, "I think I can handle it as I do it on myself all the time."

Tonks only blinked, she had forgotten that he was a werewolf. Of course he could handle a simple healing spell. She watched him wave his wand and mumble a few spells with expertise. After a moment he said, "your ankles broken. I can fix it, but you still need to go get it checked out after this."

Tonks nodded and braced her self for his spell. She groaned in pain as it seemed to correct itself. Remus quickly moved onto her shoulder, declaring that it was dislocated and fixed that too.

Trying to ignore the pain, Tonks glanced around the small room they had chosen to hide in. It was mainly filled with dusty boxes, which was odd. The ministry wouldn't fill up such a small room with boxes, they must be something special. Tonks reached forward and grabbed the nearest box to open it. Remus, who had gone back to listening to the door, looked back.

"What are you doing? Don't mess with that." He hissed.

Tonks ignored him, reaching in and pulling out one of the many necklaces the box was full of. It was very plain, just a chain with a charm on the end. The charm was an hour glass, and as Tonks glanced back into the box she noticed that all the necklaces where the same. "Huh, how strange."

"You don't know what that does, don't mess with it." Remus hissed again, reaching forward to take it from her. Tonks glared and held it out of his reach. "Nymphadora," he scolded.

"I'm only curious," she explained. "What if it can help us?"

"You found it in a random box," Remus pointed out. "It could be dangerous."

"So? Outside that door are two death eaters waiting to kill us."

Remus reached forward again to take it from her. Tonks held it in her fist, trying to keep it safe when a sharp pain cut through her palm.

"Stop, stop, look." She demanded, opening her palm, more intrigued than worried about the pain. The hour glass was spinning wildly, almost out of control. She glanced up at Remus, who's eyes were wide.

"Drop it, drop it!" He shouted, but it was too late. In shock she watched Remus disappear. She was now alone, with nothing put her wand and a time turner.

XXX

Peaking around the corner, Tonks saw it was empty so she quickly began to hobble down it. She was alone at the ministry at an unknown time. If someone spotted her and noticed that she didn't seem to belong (which was very possible because of her dirty clothes and odd limp) they would take her to the main desk and see that her wand wasn't checked in. She had basically sunk into a government building, she could get years and years in Azkaban for this. Tonks knew what Azkaban did to a person, she only had to look at her cousin to know that.

A ways in front of her someone turned down the hall. She froze, what should she do? Quickly regaining her composer, she tried to walk without a limp. Maybe they wouldn't notice her. As the person grew closer her jaw dropped open in shock, it was no other that Dumbledoor. His beard seemed to be a bit shorter, and his eyes had a bit more of a sparkle than she remembered, but that was the only thing that seemed to tell her that time had changed at all. She restrained herself from yelling out in shock, and moved her eyes in front of her. Hopefully he would keep walking, not spare her another thought.

And he did, he had given her an odd look but he hadn't stopped her. Tonks let out a breath as she looked back and watched him turn the corner. Maybe it was just luck, or maybe she didn't look as out of place as she felt. Taking a deep breath, she continued on.

XXX

The sun was setting and Tonks hadn't moved for what felt like hours. She had easily walked right out of the ministry, and was surprised at the lack of security. The second she had been free she ran to the nearest alley to regain her surroundings. If she had been doubting the time jump before, she definitely was sure now. The muggle culture was significantly different, and from the things her father had told her about she guessed she was in the late 70s.

It was then that she had realized how screwed she was. She was in a strange time, alone, with no clue of how to get home. She was a trained Auror, but she didn't know how to handle this. It wasn't like they taught you exactly how to return home from a time traveling accident. Tonks couldn't handle it, and she let a few tears escape but she quickly tried to regain herself. She was strong, she would figure out a way to get home.

Yet that didn't stop the dread from growing.

"Hello?" Called a voice. She jumped, not expecting someone to speak.

Looking up she noticed a man walking down the alley towards her. She grabbed her wand, ready for whoever it was. Tonks nearly dropped her wand when she was able to see the man clearly. Dumbledoor must've realized how out of place she was because he had tracked her down and was now walking towards her.

"What do you want?" Tonks asked nervously.

"Oh nothing really," the old man replied. "Just wanted to make sure that you were okay since you're crying in a back alley alone."

"I'm fine." Tonks responded.

Dumbledoor nodded, "I recall seeing you in the ministry earlier today. Am I correct?"

Tonks thought about lying, but knew that it wasn't a question. Cautiously she nodded.

"Are you an Auror?" For a moment Tonks was startled. Would he know that she really was an Auror? Again she nodded, not knowing what else to say. "Well I happen to be in need of an Auror, but it seems the ministry doesn't think so. Perhaps we could work something out?"

Tonks was confused. Was he asking her to help him under the table? What would he need an Auror for that the ministry would deny?

"A lot of Aurors seem to agree with me, that the murderer Tom Riddle should be given more attention than he has been given. I hope you are one of them, I would like to keep my school safe, maybe you can help me? One can never know what a murderer will do." He seemed to realize her confusion, and clarified.

"Tom Riddle should be stopped." She agreed, the only thing that had made sense to her out of his explanation.

"Yes, so could we work something out?" Dumbledoor asked. "I see your time turner is broken, not many places can fix something like that."

Tonks froze. "Er," she mumbled trying to think of a good reason why she'd have a time turner.

"I'm sure it's just a family heirloom, it's a shame that it's cracked."

Looking down Tonks noticed that he was right, the glass of the hour glass was cracked and most of the sand had fallen out. That must've been the reason why it had sent her back in time so far. Most time turners don't go back so many years.

"Yes, is it possible that you could fix it?" Tonks asked eagerly, maybe this was her ticket home.

"As long as you agree to help protect my school." Dumbledoor replied.

Tonks couldn't believe her luck. Non-other than Albus Dumbledoor had agreed to help get her home. It seemed almost to good to be true, in fact, it did seem slightly fishy.

"Of course."

XXX

AN: I did saw that I was going to start writing the quidditch story, but I just don't have any muse right now. I just really want to write this one, oops? Oh well, I'm really excited for this one, it's been bouncing around my head for awhile. I know they will seem a bit out of character, but I can't really help much with that. I will try my best! ~thebluenotebook


	2. Chapter 2

Tonks played idly with her pink hair, thinking back to the moments before Remus had pulled her up from the floor back in her own time. It was fussy, hard to remember, but she did recall that she had been fighting her aunt. In fact, Bellatrix had been winning. Tonks couldn't help but to shiver slightly, she may be related to the woman but she was a monster. Anyone that would cackle happily at the thought of attacking their family couldn't be a good person.

Running her hand through her short hair, Tonks stood up from her bed. She needed a distraction, her mind kept going back to the ministry. To Harry and his friends standing before a group of death eaters, to the look on Sirius' face when he approached Lucius Malfoy. What had happened? Did everyone make it out okay? Oh, she would kill to know.

After much too long of being lost in her thoughts Tonks was great-full for the knock on her door. "Come in," she called. Twisting around she spotted Professor McGonagall standing in the doorway.

Tonks could clearly see how different she looked. Her face was so much younger, so youthful. The wrinkles that she had once thought made McGonagall McGonagall were almost nonexistent, and her hair seemed less worn and more easily managed.

"Professor Dumbledore wanted me to go over a few things before the students arrived," the older woman said stiffly.

"Er," Tonks noticed how awkward the conversation seemed to be. Almost like it was forced. "Okay."

"As Dumbledore explained earlier, you are to protect the students from themselves more than the outside world."

Back in that alley Dumbledore had explained a few basic things that he wanted Tonks to understand before he let her take the job. Protecting the students from themselves was one of them. He was worried that they would get too involved in what was happening outside the castle walls and begin taking sides. It was possible that tensions will rise as more and more news about Tom Riddle is released. So that was the main reason for her being at Hogwarts, to keep through peace.

"Yes Professor," Tonks nodded more from habit than anything else.

McGonagall gave her an odd look before continuing, "I trust that you were informed about the Remus Lupin?"

Remus? He was here? "Um..."

"He's a werewolf," McGonagall stated. "He has permission to leave school grounds once a month during the full moon, but his friends do not. If they are seen out of bed with Mr. Lupin they are to be punished. Is that clear?"

"Yes?" Tonks was unsure about that. Why should Remus' friends be punished for trying to help him out? Weren't they all animagi? Didn't they join him for the full moon? Tonks tried desperately to remember.

McGonagall gave Tonks a doubtful look and Tonks was beginning to wonder if the older woman disliked her. "The students will be here soon, you are expected to be at the feast."

"Okay." Tonks nodded.

"Thank you Miss Tank," she said before leaving.

Tonks couldn't help but to smirk a little to herself. She was really proud of herself for coming up with a fake name to go by, just incase, and Nova Tank was a pretty good name considering she had come up with it on the spot. With a smile Tonks left her room and headed for the Great Hall for the beginning of the year feast.

XXX

For some odd reason Tonks had always enjoyed the sorting. Maybe it the confidence the tiny first years seemed to gain after the hat was removed from their heads, but it reminded Tonks of herself. She to had been nervous, the most nervous she'd ever felt. Although both her parents were magical, she'd really never been involved in the wizarding world. Her mothers family had shunned her after she'd married her father, and her father was muggle-born. Right from the start Tonks had been a bit of an outcast, and for those few short moments at the beginning Tonks wasn't sure if she was okay with that or not. But after the hat had yelled out Hufflepuff, she no longer felt unsure. She felt empowered.

That fond memory stayed with her throughout her year at Hogwarts and resurfaced every sorting, and now she sat at the end of the table next to Hagrid with a small smile. All too soon the sorting was over and Dumbledore was addressing everyone. Almost automatically Tonks tuned it out and began looking through the faces trying to pick out familiar faces.

She'd spotted a few but one face made her do a double take. Sitting in the middle of the table surrounded by three other boys was Harry. How did Harry get here? How was this possible. She stared at him, her heart pounding until he looked over at her, sensing her gaze. Once his eyes met hers she realized it wasn't Harry, he didn't have those eyes. Now that she knew it wasn't Harry, she could easily pick out the differences between this boy and him. His glasses weren't the same, his hair was styled differently, and he didn't have a scar peaking out from underneath his hair.

Tonks couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from the look alike, even when he frowned at her obvious gaping. She watched as he leaned forward, sharing a few words with the boys he was sitting with without taking his eyes off of hers. She watched as one of the boys looked up at her with a smirk, his shaggy hair bouncing as his head moved. He blew her a kiss, and suddenly Tonks knew who these boys where. The flirty one had to be her cousin, Sirius, which would make the Harry look alike James Potter.

"-Ms. Nova Tank!" Her fake name rang through her ears as everyone began to clap. Tonks looked around, unsure of what was happening.

Hagrid whispered for her to stand, which she quickly did. Tonks stood awkwardly before the students of Hogwarts for what felt like forever until the clapping died down. She quickly flopped back down in her seat as soon as she could, earning a chuckle from her neighbor.

As Dumbledore turned back to his audience Tonks let her eyes wonder back over to the four boys. Sirius was muttering something to his friends which earned a laugh, and Tonks had a suspicion that it was a joke at her expense. With a huff, Tonks let her eyes continue scanning the crowd, and again she caught a familiar face. Little greasy Severus Snape sat across the room for the four laughing boys and was glaring heavily at them. He looked almost exactly as he did when Tonks had seen him last, if that was possible. He had obviously matured since he was a 7th year, but he truly did like exactly the same, it was astonishing.

Tonks continued to watch him for a little longer until food appeared on her plate, distracting her. Pushing all the boys out of her mind she eagerly picked up a fork and dug in.

The night had passed by quickly, and before Tonks knew it she was laying in bed in her own dorm drifting off to sleep. It brought back memory's of when she went to Hogwarts and she was thankful. She didn't know what she would've done if she hadn't had found Dumbledore. Surely she wouldn't be as relaxed as she was now, she almost felt as if she was at home.

Her last thought before she fell asleep was about her duty. She had taken a job, and was committed to do it. That was on her list of things to do. Protect the students from each other, and get home.

XXX

The sun had fully risen, finally the entire grounds were covered in light. The last shadows disappearing from sight. Tonks felt at ease as she watched the last students scurry off to class. She definitely didn't miss the stress of being a student, that was for sure.

As she strolled down the corridor, suddenly hearing voices. They seemed giddy, and excited. Following them she had expected to find a few 1st or 2nd years skipping class but as she rounded the corner she was surprised to see four 7th years peering over an object hidden between them. They hadn't noticed her approach until she cleared her throat.

"Ahem."

All four jumped in shock, the tallest hiding the object behind his back. The four look shocked to see her, as if they hadn't remembered that she now worked here.

"Why aren't you in class?" Tonks asked.

"Erm," the tallest stuttered.

"Well my dear lady," rang a silky voice of the boy with the darkest hair. "We don't have class at the moment, it's our free period."

"Oh?" Tonks responded. "Then what are you hiding?" She took a step closer, pointing at the tallest. "Certainly it's not a textbook."

"It's nothing," the tallest responded. Tonks took him in. His clothes were a bit worn, most likely second hand, but kept in excellent condition. His face held tiny, blearily noticeable scars, and eyes that looked much older than they really were.

"Then do you care to show me?"

The four boys looked between themselves and nodded. The tallest then handed then handed the object over to Tonks. She took it carefully, and looked at it. It just just a blank piece of parchment, but as Tonks turned it over in her hands she realized what it was.

Looking up at the four she noticed they seemed slightly smug, "may I have your names? For future reference?"

"Well of course," declared the boy with glasses, the Harry look alike. "James Potter." He said proudly.

"Sirius Black," the dark haired boy joined in. "At your service."

"Peter," the smallest said in a soft voice. "Pettigrew."

"And Remus Lupin," the tallest finished.

"And I take it you know who I am?" Tonks asked.

"Yes, your Nova Tank, the head of security." James replied.

"Nova Tank, how ever did you get lucky with that good of a name? I don't think it's real," Sirius commented. His words earned a glare from James.

Tonks almost froze up, but quickly responded. "No, course not. My real name is horrid, can't believe my mother named me something that bad."

"What? It can't be that bad." Peter asked.

"I know, no one can top Serverus. Am I right James?" Sirius said.

"Yep, nothing worse." James joined in. "Tell us, what is it?"

"That won't happen, I suggest you get on now. Prepare for you next class." Tonks declared.

"Okay, if you'll give us back our parchment." Remus asked, holding out his hand.

Tonks shook her head, "I think I'll keep it. I'm new here after all, I need some parchment. No one thought to give me any."

All their faces fell, and out of them all Peter looked the most heart broken.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts," Tonks greeted as she turned and walked off. She didn't stop until she got into her office, which was a floor under her dorm.

Quickly closing the door and charming it with a silencing spell she laid the parchment down on the table. She spread it out till it was flat before pulling her wand out. With a glance over her shoulder to check the door she whispered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

The map showed it self, the ink appearing and showing the castle. Looking at her office on the map, she saw the boys all stationed outside her door. She smirked, these boys were smart and they're going to want their map back. She'd have to keep it with her if she wanted to keep it, and it would be useful to help keep the peace. Yet, it would be even better to have these boys on her side. She thanked her lucky stars that she had found this map while at school, it continues to help her.

XXX

Tonks was leaving Gryffindor Tower later that day when she spotted Professor Dumbledore strolling down the corridor. As he came closer he spotted Tonks. "Ah, miss Tank adjusting to Hogwarts I hope?" He asked.

"Oh yes sir, it's lovely here." Tonks replied truthfully.

Dumbledore motioned for her to walk with him. "And have you met any of the students?"

"Yes, Remus, Peter, Sirius, and James. They are quite the bunch." Tonks replied, keeping peace with the older man.

"Oh yes, the marauders I believe they call themselves. They do have quite the personality, and they do give Minerva a hard time."

"I'd believe it," Tonks thought back on her time here at Hogwarts. She too gave McGonagall a hard time, but not nearly as bad as she gave Professor Sprout. More than once had the woman declared that she had better get her head on straight or she'd never get anywhere. Always the encouraging one, Pomona Sprout.

"Yes. Oh, and Nova I had wanted to speak with you about your time turner."

"Tonks," she corrected.

"What?"

"Er, I mean Tank. Just call me Tank, no one calls me by my first name." Tonks felt her hair change to a darker color as she silently panicked. She couldn't slip up like that, not if she wanted to keep her time traveling a secret.

"Tank," Dumbledore corrected, ignoring her slip up. "Your time turner."

Tonks grew nervous. "You can't fix it?"

"Well yes, I can still fix it. But it will take some time, that is if you want it to be useable."

"Like time traveling useable?" Tonks said a bit high pitched.

"Yes."

"Well, I'd very much like to have it useable." Tonks was able to spit out. "Is that still possible?"

Dumbledore was quiet for a moment, which didn't help Tonks' nerves. "Yes, but as I said, it will take some time."

Tonks calmed a bit, "okay, that's fine. How long do you think?"

"Within the year, before the 7th years graduate."

Tonks inwardly groaned. She had been willing to stay for awhile, but nearly a year? That was much longer than she had anticipated. She was eager to get back to her time and finish this war they were in.

"And there's no way to speed up the process?"

"I'm afraid not, you lost most of the sand that was inside the hour glass. If you want it to work properly it will need the sand, which isn't easy to get ahold off." Dumbledore calmly replied, unknowing of her slight panic.

"Okay. As long as you can fix it, take as long as you need sir." Tonks said.

Dumbledore had stopped walking and they were standing in front of Tonks' office. She must've not been looking where they were going, because she hadn't expected them to end up here. "I will try to be as fast as I can, I know you would like your necklace back." And with a wink Dumbledore left without another word, leaving Tonks with mixed emotions.

XXX

AN: Chapter two! The long weekend gave me some extra time so I finished this up. In the future I won't be able to post so often because I'm normally busy. I really want to post every week, but I don't think I'll be able to get around to it. Hopefully every two weeks? I'll try.

Anyways this chapter, a little more into the whole deal with the time turner, meeting the marauders, a bit of Tonks. And her cover name too, what do you guys think of Nova Tank? I thought it sounded a little badass. Tell me what you think, leave a review. Tell me all about her name, and the chapter. I'd be happy to hear.

And to that user that reminded me about the spelling of Dumbledore, thank you! I totally messed that one up! Though it's a lot of work to go back and change it I may not do it very soon, I don't have a real computer and things are much easier with one. I will spell it correctly in the future, I swear!

~thebluenotebook


	3. Chapter 3

When Tonks had first agreed to this job she had thought it would involve more action yet it was her fifth day at Hogwarts and she hadn't done a thing. She didn't know why she expected to actually have something to do the entire time, she had gone to Hogwarts, she knew how it was. It's rare that anyone would start a fight, or for any type of feud to happen. Sure, the school was full of kids but sadly most of them are well behaved.

Tonks sighed and pulled her feet up on her desk. She was bored, and if this was what she was going to do for the rest of the year she'd pull her hair out simply for something to do.

Staring out the window from her spot she could clearly see her reflection. Today her hair was a light shade of blue, but she had left her face untouched. When many people learned she was a metamorphmgus they'd ask what about herself did she always change. They wouldn't understand that she liked her natural face, and very rarely changed it. Tonks didn't like hiding herself away and when she changed her face she felt like she was. It felt like a lie.

Although, she never had a problem when she changed for fun. Focusing on her reflection in the window, Tonks began to change her face. She let her nose grow impossibly long, so much that she couldn't repress a giggle. Next she focused on her eye brows, letting the hair grow longer than the hair on her head. Then she moved to her teeth, and soon those too matched her face, being humungous. She laughed at her appearance, it was ridiculous.

Her laughter was interrupted by a rapid knock on her office door. "Come in," she called pulling her legs off the desk and turning to face the door. A small student stood in the doorway, and as they spotted her disfigured face they shrunk back. "Yes?" Tonks asked.

They were silent for a moment before opening their mouth. "A-a fight," they stuttered. "In the dungeons."

Tonks let her face form back into its normal look as she shot up like a bullet. "Take me," she demanded. Finally, some action!

The small child quickly started running down the hall and Tonks hurriedly followed. For someone with such small legs, the kid was fast and soon they were approaching a group of students standing in a circle. They were all oddly silent, most fights that Tonks had been to all the students had been urging the fight on. Why were they all so quiet?

Tonks began to push her way through the students yelling, "everybody move!" Finally stumbling into the circle she spotted the feuding teens. It was a large burley Slytherin matched against the tiny Severus Snape. "Stop!" Tonks shouted.

The big Slytherin ignored her and picked up Snape by the front of his robes before sending a fist at his face.

"Oi!" Tonks moved forward grabbing the back of Snape's robes and pulling him away from the larger boy. "What do you think you're doing?" She demanded as she stepped between the two.

The large Slytherin said nothing, never taking his eyes off of Snape, his glare cold and unforgiving. Finally he looked up at Tonks with the same glare. He then straightened his own robes before strutting off.

Once he had begun to leave the crowd seemed to loose interest and slowly disappeared. After most of the audience was gone Tonks turned to Snape.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked. She was a bit confused on what had happened, but that didn't stop her from checking on the poor boy in front of her.

The boy only glared, although his look was nowhere near the older boys in ferocity, mainly because of his swelling eye. "I'm fine," he spat.

Yet he clearly wasn't. His nose was obviously broken, it hardly even looked like a nose and the amount of blood that was dribbling out of it was enough to be worried. The other kid must've hit him several times before Tonks had arrived to create that much damage. Inspecting him further Tonks noticed that he was a bit hunched over and guarding his ribs like they were in pain.

"Let me help," Tonks offered stepping closer.

"No!" Snape snapped, shuffling backwards. His black hair fell into his eyes as he stared her down, giving him a more brooding look.

"It's ok," Tonks held her hand out. "At least let me fix your nose."

"I can do it myself," he sneered.

Tonks frowned, "then do it. I want to make sure you're okay."

Snape brushed his greasy hair out of his pale face as he grabbed his wand. Effortlessly he waved it and his nose morphed back into its proper form. He then gave Tonks a smirk, if she could even call it that. "May I go now?"

"Not yet," Tonks said. "Who was that boy?"

"I have no clue," Snape responded. Tonks immediately knew that was a lie, but she let it slide. At least for now.

"Why was he beating you up?"

"Oh, just fun and games. It's a boy thing."

"Oh?"

"Yes," Snape sneered. "Are you done?"

Tonks ignored his question, "so a boy you don't know just randomly decided to beat you up?"

"Yes!" Snape declared.

"That's a bit unlikely," Tonks stated.

"I know. Jeez Snivellus, come up with a better lie," called a cocky voice from behind Tonks.

Turning she spotted all four Marauders. "Butt out!" She called before turning back to Snape only to find no one there. Looking down the hallway she spotted his retreating form running away. With a groan she looked back at the four. "What are you doing here?" She asked rudely.

"Nothing, we just heard there was a fight." Sirius responded. "It seems we missed it though," he added disappointed.

"That didn't give you the permission to interrupt." Tonks declared.

"Interrupt what?" Remus asked.

"My conversation."

"What, you were having a conversation with Snivellus?" James asked with a laugh. "As if that's possible, he only talks to Slytherins. He wouldn't want his social status to be ruined by any half-bloods."

Tonks gave James an annoyed look.

"No offense of course," James added. "If you are half-blood."

Tonks sighed, "I don't have time to talk to you, I have a job to do." She moved to leave when Sirius yelled for her to wait.

"We have something to say," he said seriously.

"What?" Tonks demanded more than asked.

"How about a less public setting?" Remus suggested looking at the few students that were still in the hallway from the fight.

Tonks nodded once then began down the corridor not even bothering to check that the trouble makers were following. She turned into an empty classroom and gestured the boys in. Closing the door behind her she then looked over the four. Sirius made himself comfortable on the teachers desk, while James preferred the teachers chair. Peter sat in the desk next to the one Remus had chosen to lean against. They all looked at ease, so she guessed that whatever they had to say wasn't too important.

Finally after what felt like hours of looking at each other James spoke up, "you returned the parchment."

"Yes." The night that she had taken the map from them she had returned it to their dorm while they'd been at dinner. It was better to have the Marauders on your side rather than against you, and with the map in her possession they'd be against her.

The room feel silent again. It seemed like the boys had more to ask, but we're holding it back.

"Peter," Tonks addressed. "You haven't said a thing."

"Oh, yeah. Er," Peter stuttered. "I just don't have anything so say."

Tonks looked over the small boy. He seemed like such a child, it was hard to believe that in only a few years time he would betray the other three in the room. It pained her to think of that.

"So," Tonks spoke to the entire group. "Anything else you wanted to tell me?"

"Why," Remus said almost immediately.

"Why what?" Tonks turned to him. She was taken aback at how young he was. How full of life he was. This wasn't the Remus she remembered.

"Why return it, the parchment?"

Tonks picked her words carefully, "I have no need for parchment."

Again the room grew silent.

"Anything else?"

"No," Sirius shook his head.

"Okay, then excuse me, I have to find a certain Slytherin." And with that Tonks left the four oddly quiet Marauders.

XXX

Tonks took a deep breath and stepped into the Great Hall. She made her way to Slytherin table swiftly, and without a moments hesitation. She wasn't afraid of the person she was about to confront, but she was a bit concerned that she wouldn't sound firm enough to be taken seriously. She pushed that thought out of her mind and came up to the large Slytherin, the one that had smacked Snape around earlier.

"Mr. Rood?" She said, getting his attention.

He looked up at her and grumpily put his fork down. His friends all looked at her with annoyed demeanor. "Yes?" He seethed.

"I'd like to speak with you," Tonks declared.

"So go ahead." Rood said.

"I'm private," Tonks clarified.

Rood looked at Tonks with a small glare before saying, "I'd rather not. I'm trying to eat if you don't mind." The girl next to him snickered at his refusal.

Tonks only brushed off his words, "well that's fine, we'll just speak tonight at your detention. 7 o'clock, my office. Don't be late." Tonks then left without another word.

As soon as she'd left the Great Hall she breathed a sigh of relief, that had gone better than she'd expected.

XXX

"What do you think Remus?"

"Huh?" Remus looked up from his dinner, he hasn't been following the conversation between his friends.

"About Nova? What do you think?" James asked again.

"Oh, well, she seems new. I don't think she's ever had a job like this, working in a school." Remus said the first thing that came to mind.

"Yeah, she does seem that way." Sirius agreed.

"But the map," Peter commented. "She seemed to know what to do with that."

"Yes, why would she just give it back? That doesn't make much sense." James nodded.

The four boys sat at the back of Gryffindor table, secluded away from the rest of their house so they could talk in peace.

"She must know what it is," Sirius said. "But why would she return it?"

The boys were stumped. Nova Tank was somebody that they didn't understand.

"Look," Peter said through a mouthful of food. "There she is!"

All four boys turned to see Nova strut into the Great Hall. They watched her turn towards Slytherin table and begin talking to Tyler Rood.

"She must've found out that he started the fight earlier," Remus commented.

"I wonder what she's going to do? Give him a warning?" Peter asked.

"No, she's not the type to give a warning. Not for fighting." James stated. "Probably a detention."

"What even is her job?" Sirius asked turned back to his food. "Security? Why is this year any different from last year?"

"You know why Sirius," Remus said gravely. "It's the killings, Dumbledore is being cautious."

The group said one more thing as they watched Nova Tank leave the Great Hall.

"Let's keep a close eye on her."

XXX

Tonks was flipping through a Witch Weekly she had found in the hall when a knock finally sounded on her office door. Glancing at the clock she saw it was nearing 8. With a flick of her wand she opened the door to see Tyler Rood standing there.

"You're late," she stated slightly irritated.

Tyler only shrugged.

"You're detention hasn't even started and you've already earned yourself another one." This earned a glare, but Tonks shrugged it off. "I was only going to ask you a few questions, but it seems like you've made it harder for yourself."

Tyler was quiet for a moment before breaking the silence. "Ask away."

Tonks raised an eyebrow, "why beat up the kid?"

"He deserved it," Tyler stated.

"By doing what?"

"He has traitorous thoughts," Tyler said this with no emotion. His tone almost scary.

"How would you know his thoughts?"

"I don't need to read minds to know what a person is thinking."

Tonks was unsure of how to continue, was this just typical Slytherin feuding or was this something more? And his traitorous thoughts? What is that supposed to mean?

"Okay, downstairs is Professor McGonagall. She's finishing your detention for the night."

Tyler only turned and left, saying nothing else. Tonks had a bad feeling about this kid. Something was up. She made a reminder to keep a close eye on him.

XXX

Time was something that Tonks seemed to be losing track of lately. It wasn't until Irma Prince, the librarian, approached her that she realized that it was almost time for classes. She'd been in the library all night! It all seemed to be a waste too as she hadn't found anything that she'd wanted.

"Time travel?" Madam Prince asked. "Why are you so interested in such an absurd topic?"

"Er, it's just, um, something I like to read about..." Tonk awkwardly replied.

Madam Prince turned her nose up, "be careful with my books." She said before disappearing behind a stack of books.

Tonks breathed a sigh of relief. She often felt as if it was obvious that she wasn't from this time and sometimes became concerned that someone would notice.

She sat down and placed her head inside one of the books. It had been close to a month since Tonks had been sent to this time, and she was beginning to feel homesick. She just wanted to get home, she desperately missed her parents. She missed her job, her friends, she even missed her duties.

Tonks was letting herself drift off when she heard someone behind her. Quickly sitting up she began to explain herself to Madam Prince, "I'm not sleeping on the book. I swear, I was just getting close so I could read it better!"

Turning she saw that it wasn't Madam Prince but Remus and Peter. They both looked vaguely amused at her explanation.

"Already met Madam Prince?" Remus asked.

"Erm, yeah." Tonks quickly began putting the books away. Hopefully Remus wouldn't notice what they were about. "W-what are you two doing here so early?"

"Just returning a book," Remus said. "What do you have?" He asked picking up the nearest book, "The Effects of Time Travel?"

Tonks quickly snatched the book out of his hands.

"Time travel? Is that possible?" Peter asked.

"Yeah," Remus murmured. "But only with a time turner. Do you have one Nova?"

"N-no, that's impossible to get. The ministry wouldn't let anyone." Tonks replied. "Don't call me Nova, it's Tank."

Remus gave her an odd look and watched as she continued stuffing books back onto the self in front of her.

"If you're looking for a book on time travel I know the perfect one," Remus said. Tonks paused, he was offering to help her?

She looked over at him. He was very pale, and looked exhausted. It must be close to the full moon.

"Do you want it?"

"Er, yes." Tonks nodded.

"Wait here," Remus said. "I need your help Peter." He mumbled as he rushed off down another isle of books.

Why did he seem so eager to help her?

Soon the two boys came rushing back with a large book. With a smile Remus handed the it to Tonks. It was old, and worn and Tonks was a bit skeptical.

"Twat?" She read the title out loud.

"It's an acronym," Peter said.

"Yeah, Time Travel With A Time Turner. TTWATT." Remus added.

"Thank you," Tonks said.

"You're welcome Tonks."

Tonks stilled at the use of her name. "What?" She breathed.

"I said, you're welcome Tank." Remus frowned.

"Oh," Tonks murmured. "I should go," she stated before quickly walking away. "T-thanks again."

Once she was out of sight Remus turned to Peter with a grin. "You were right, Nova Tank isn't her real name."

Peter shrugged, "the map never lies."

XXX


	4. Chapter 4

Tonks sat at the entrance of the school watching the teens roam about the grounds. It was getting colder, but it was still warm enough to relax outside. With a mild fascination Tonks watched the darkening sky, it was a beautiful light pink. Tonks stared at it deeply before squeezing her eyes shut changing her hair to the same color. A brisk chill shoot through her scalp and that let her know that the change had worked. Looking down she grabbed a chunk of hair that was hanging off her shoulder and noted happily that it was the very same pink as the sky. Twirling the strand between her fingers she thought about getting a hair cut, her hair was quite long and it was much easier to cut it than to morph it every day.

She looked back down at the book on her lap. It was the one Remus had suggested, and it was surprisingly helpful. It was mainly time travelers themselves telling about their experiences. So far Tonks had only read two passages but both made her come to a realization, she really needed to be careful about what she did while in this time. Her actions here could majorly effect the future, or her present. Like for example, if she was too nice and encouraging to Peter perhaps he wouldn't betray the Potters in the coming years. His loyalty could throw off the entire balance of her time, if he didn't betray his friends He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named may never have been killed when Harry was a baby.

Tonks didn't like it, she didn't like how much power was in her hands. She could save James and Lily Potter with only a few actions, but in doing so she may condemn others. She didn't want to meddle in this time changing business, honestly she only really wanted to get home. Tonks sighed and closed her book, leaning back on one of the steps leading up to the gigantic doors of Hogwarts. She needed to distance herself from everyone. One small action may change everything, so she needed to be careful, only a few words to any person. She would still do her job, just continue on unnoticed.

"Whatcha doin?" Asked a curious voice from behind Tonks. Twisting around she spotted a first year sitting on top of the stone railing. "Sitting out here in the dark?"

Tonks turned back to the sky, and noticed that it was getting dark. She hadn't realized that she'd been sitting out here for so long.

"Erm, I didn't realize." Tonks admitted turning back to the little girl behind her.

The girl only nodded. Tonks couldn't help but to notice to innocence in her eyes. The light green went all the way to her heart and Tonks could only see light, it was breathtaking to look at.

"Do you happen to know where Professor Slughorn is holding his meeting?" She asked, "I checked his classroom and he wasn't there."

"I believe he's in the Great Hall," Tonks responded.

The little girl adjusted her large cloak and Tonks noticed the badger mole patch that hung off her shoulder.

"Thank you," she replied before turning on her heel and fishing off.

Tonks continued watching the young Hufflepuff run off with a bizarre feeling of déjà vu.

XXX

"I still don't know what you where thinking Albus. She is clearly not an Auror."

"Something's may come to surprise you Minerva," Dumbledore said, clasping his hands over his stomach and sitting back in his chair.

McGonagall gave Dumbledore an exasperated look. "Albus, we both know what it happening outside this school. We cannot leave the safety of the students to someone who is practically a student herself!"

"Age is not a factor when it comes to ability Minerva." Dumbledore said calmly. "Even our youngest students come to amaze us."

"Yes, but Albus, would you have a seventh year up against Riddle?"

"That's not the same thing," Dumbledore argued. "Please, have faith in Miss Tank and myself. I believe is the best fit for this job, she will succeed in protecting the students."

McGonagall huffed and collapsed into a chair, "I have faith in you," she mumbled.

XXX

Tonks had long ago abandoned her steps and was wandering back up to her room. She rubbed an eye and stuck her book in her armpit so she could pull her hair up. She really needed it cut.

Turning the corner, Tonks marveled at the darkening castle. Everyone may be asleep, but you could still feel the life that lived inside the castle. Magic seemed to be laced within every nook and cranny of the place, and that thought soothed Tonks. She was feeling a bit desperate about her circumstances right now.

A soft scuffle make her ear twitch and she paused. It didn't sound like a normal noise that the castle would make, it must be a student. Listening, Tonks tried to place where it was coming from.

In front of her.

Quickly and quietly she hurried to the source. Pausing once more to listen again before she rounded the corner. The setting sun provided very little light, but in the distance she found the cause of the scuffle. It was the four boys that seemed to be following her around.

They were moving really fast towards Tonks, but she couldn't imagine why. One of the boys seemed to be leaning against two boys while the remaining boy was pulling along a large bag. The scuffle noise was coming from the boy who was leaning on his friends, his feet dragging along behind him.

As they came close enough for Tonks to see there faces, she froze. Her heart stopped, and her mouth clamped shut.

James and Sirius where dragging an extremely pale Remus, while Peter was trailing along behind them. When they spotted Tonks in front of them, they too froze.

They all stood there staring at each other, and often a few moments Tonks realized they were waiting for her to say something. Yet she couldn't bring herself to say anything. Never before had she seen Remus looking so ill, it was like he could die at any passing moment. That thought chilled Tonks to the bone.

"W-why have we stopped?" Remus breathed, his voice was so weak that if Tonks hadn't been watching his lips she wouldn't have known that the words were being spoken and not from her own mind.

"Shh," Peter reached up and patted Remus' arm. Remus accepted his soothing pat and shut his eyes, letting his head fall forward onto Sirius' shoulder.

"Well?" Sirius demanded after another moment of silence.

"Er," Tonks didn't know what to do. Tonight was the full moon, Remus would change tonight. Glancing out the window, Tonks noticed that it was nearly sun set. In fact, only a few moments from now would the sun be setting.

The light was dimming, and Tonks realized she had to act, and fast.

With a deep breath, Tonks quickly walked past the four boys and down the hall, not uttering a single word. She turned down another corridor and stopped. Leaning against the wall she listened for the boys.

They hesitated, but eventually James spoke up. "Come on! We don't have much time!" And then the scuffling continued, only this time much more rapid and desperate.

Even after they were long gone and the sun had set, Tonks was still leaning against the wall. She'd known that Remus was a werewolf just as long as she'd known him, but she'd never seen him during a full moon. Ever. Seeing him like that was different, like it affirmed the fact that he was a werewolf. It also made Tonks realize how serous it was, Remus could actually kill somebody. And she had let the three musketeers go out with him only moments away from his transformation.

Tonks cursed herself. She had been so caught up in the moment that the only thing she had been thinking about was that she needed to distance herself from everybody. She was a time traveler, but her job was just as important as not meddling with the past.

Tonks quickly got up and hurried down the corridor.

XXX

Tonks reached out to open the doors to the hospital wing when it opened for her and she came face to face with McGonagall. The older woman gave her an irritated look before walking down the hall, away from the infirmary. Tonks rolled her eyes before walking through the doors. The wing was empty except for one person. In the far corner, all by himself, was Remus Lupin.

Walking closer to his bed side, she watched the boy look at her wearily. Tonks sat down on the chair next to his bed without a word. Remus looked much better than he had the night before, but not by much. The sight of him looking a bit more human was reassuring to Tonks. She had spent the whole night debating on weather or not she should interfere with the marauders. By the time she had decided that she should help the boys it had been day break.

"They told me that we ran into you last night," Remus murmured.

"You did."

Remus fell silent.

"Are you okay?" Tonks couldn't help asking.

Remus looked at her oddly, "yes."

"Good, wouldn't want anyone hurt we would we?"

"Of course," Remus agreed bitterly.

"W-where are the others?" Tonks asked, aware of his mood.

Remus didn't answer her, instead he asked his own question. "What are you going to do?"

Tonks was stumped by his question, "huh?"

"Are you going to petition to get me removed? Tell everyone what I am? What?" He spat out the last part angrily.

Tonks furrowed her brow, "I'm not going to do anything." She stated loudly. "I just wanted to know that you were okay."

Remus' face became stoic.

Tonks stood, "apparently you still have a bit of the moon with you right now so I'll just go." And with that, Tonks left Remus to his thoughts.

XXX

Mindlessly roaming the halls was a habit Tonks had developed over her years at Hogwarts, but it had never lead her anywhere worthwhile. Until today that is.

After her confrontation with Remus, which she had realized wasn't very professional of her considering that she was apart of the Hogwarts staff, she happened to stumble upon a heated conversation down near the dungeons.

"As if you care!" Spat a low voice.

"I do care, you're my brother." Declared another voice.

"Brothers don't do what you've done." The voice spat again.

The second voice sighed, "Reg." It pleaded, almost desperate.

"Don't call me that," growled the first voice.

Silence fell for a moment and Tonks wondered if perhaps they had walked away. She leaned against the wall, listening hard for any signs that they'd moved.

"I understand Reg, I'll leave you alone. Just," the voice paused. "If you need me I'm here, okay?"

"When would I ever need traitor like you?"

"Fair enough," the second voice said thickly. Footsteps began towards Tonks direction.

She began to panic, she couldn't be seen eavesdropping. Her eyes darted around, trying to find a place to hide. She spotted a tapestry and quickly jumped behind it. Peaking out so she could see the person walking past her breath caught. Sirius trudged past.

She felt an overwhelming feeling of sadness crash into her. Her cousin was trying to connect with his brother and he was denying it. It reminded her of how cruel that side of her family was. The pure bloods where unforgiving and heartless people, and she was glad she had never been involved with such affairs.

She desperately wanted to reach out and comfort Sirius, but she held herself back. She couldn't interfere with the past, she didn't want to ruin the future.

Tonks leaned back against the wall behind the tapestry and closed her eyes. Being here was going to be hard, she wasn't allowing herself to do anything she wanted. Standing by idly wasn't her nature.

"Oh great," Tonks muttered to herself.

XXX

Lily put the newspaper down and leaning back in her seat before staring into the fire. James took notice of her behavior and turned to her.

"Lily, what's wrong?"

"I-I'm," Lily stuttered. "James, I'm scared. A war is starting, I can feel it. It's not going to end well."

James shared a look with his three friends that had settled themselves around the fire. They all had the same look of understanding. They all knew what was coming, and they all had the same feeling Lily did. Turning back, James attempted to comfort her.

"I know, but you have us. We'll always be here, right guys?"

"Yeah."

"Course."

"Where else would we be?" The three spoke at the same time.

Lily gave them a small smile.

"Not that you need us anyway, I'm sure you could nock off this Voldemort by yourself." James shrugged and leaned back to wrap his arm around her. Lily rolled her eyes and leaned into James' arm.

XXX


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The sun warmed Tonks' back as she hurried to the green houses, she had to get there before Professor Sprout if she hoped to succeed. Silently slipping inside she was thankful that the room was empty and she calmly walked over to the pot sitting on the edge of the table. Peering inside, Tonks was satisfied with its contents and with a quick glance around the room she reached within the pocket of her robes and pulled out the jar she had been saving for this very moment. Ripping the lid off eagerly, Tonks proceeded to dump the slimy creatures from the jar inside the pot. She had just barely put the jar in back in her pocket when Sprout entered the room.

The Professor gave her an untrustworthy look. "What are you doing here so early?" She asked.

"Nothing Professor, just thought that I should get to class early today," Tonks shrugged.

Sprout looked at her doubtfully, "Take your seat then. Away from my pot."

Tonks grinned at her head of house before finding a chair along the table and sitting down. By the time she had sat down a group of Ravenclaws entered the room, it wouldn't be long until class started.

As more students entered the room Tonks happily watched her head of house cautiously approach the pot. Sprout knew the young Hufflepuff had done something to her pot, hardly a day went by when she didn't.

"Sit down class, let's get started." Professor Sprout said without looking away from the pot. Everyone settled in around the table, and Tonks moved to the edge of her seat with anticipation. Out of all the pranks she pulled this year, this one had to be the best.

Sprout stared into the pot for a moment before frowning. She quickly glanced up at Tonks who only smirked in response. The older woman then looked back into the pot. "Erm," she muttered. "T-today we will be readying pots for the new saplings."

Sprout had decided to continue on with the lesson because when she looked into her pot she had seen nothing but the plain old dirt. No snake, no odd bug, nothing that was usually placed there by a trouble making Nymphadora.

"So we need to break up the dirt, it's best to use your hands. Don't be afraid of getting dirt under your nails, it comes with the experience. Now watch, like this-" Sprout dug her hand deep within the pot, and abruptly stopped talking. Her eyes bugged and her breath caught. With a shriek her yanked her hand out of the pot and stumbled back.

Tonks began her giggles and some fellow students joined in, they where used to her pranks she played on her head of house and they had become an event many looked forward to. Except for the fellow Hufflepuff, Arnold, he was the only one that seemed to be truly against her shenanigans. Arnold shot Tonks a dirty look before leaning over Sprout's pot. He grasped it and flipped it over, pouring out its contents onto the table. Sprout, who was white as a ghost, staggered back before letting out a sigh. The dirt hit the table top and wiggling inside of it was a bunch of worms. They were normal, pink, slimy worms, ones that you can find at any wizarding or muggle store.

Tonks snickered, "it's just some worms Professor. Don't you encounter them every day?" She asked innocently.

Sprout pushed her hair out of her face, "see me after class."

**XXX**

Tonks slowly opened her eyes and stared up at the top of her canopy. Her dream had brought back the fond memories of her teen years here at Hogwarts. It had also made her more homesick. She missed the simplicity of life, the fun she used to have, the innocence. But it was all gone, back home was the beginning of a war and here? It was no different.

She sat up and brushed a hand through her hair, messing it up even more than it already was. She sighed, then moved to get ready for the day.

She had been hardly dressed when a knock on the door interrupted her. Fastening her pants, she quickly moved to answer it. Throwing open the door she came face to face with the normally cross McGonagall, but this time instead of dislike on her face it was worry.

"Professor?" Tonks asked.

"Come quickly, a student's been attacked."

Tonks demeanor became serous, she turned back to grab her cloak hanging on the hook next to the door before following McGonagall down the corridor.

"What happened? When was it? Early this morning? Who? It wasn't a first year was it?" Tonks spat out in a rapid fire.

"Hush," McGonagall said over her shoulder.

Tonks rolled her eyes but complied and continued to quietly follow McGonagall to wherever they were going. Finally they approached the Infirmary.

"How badly hurt is this student?" Tonks couldn't help but to ask. McGonagall paused outside the doors and gave Tonks a long look. Tonks felt her insides clench up.

Without another word McGonagall opened the doors and lead Tonks inside to the far side of the room and in the almost exact spot Remus had been in was a divider. Tonks could see the shadow of three people behind it. Just before she walked past the divider Tonks paused, she had to clear her mind. Taking a deep breath she let her Auror training kick in.

Stepping past the divider Tonks took in the faces of the people there. Dumbledore stood at the foot of the bed and had turned when both McGonagall and her had approached. Madam Pomfrey stood at the bedside of the student, holding a potion and had a grave look on her face. Sitting across from Pomfrey was a small redhead who had the injured student's hand clasped in hers. Tonks could hear the redhead's sniffles and felt her own composer waver, but quickly regained control. She had to remain professional, if she didn't have a calm demeanor then no one around her would either.

Finally Tonks laid eyes on the student they were all here for. It was a young girl, perhaps only a first or second year. The girl seemed to be asleep, yet she was deathly pale, which wasn't a good sign. To add to all that she seemed to be turning a deep red color. Her entire left arm was the odd color and Tonks was unsure of what exactly had happened to this girl.

"Will someone please fill me in?" Tonks asked in a hushed voice. She didn't know why she had spoken in such a quiet voice, she just felt like her normal volume was inappropriate.

"I'm afraid we don't really know," Dumbledore said causing a new wave of sniffles from the redhead.

"What do you mean?" Tonks asked.

"She was found early this morning, by the library, in this state. Someone has placed a curse on this poor girl and left her there." Dumbledore explained.

Tonks turned toward the young girl in the bed. She felt a heavy disgust for whomever did this to the girl. Leaving her after placing a possibly deadly curse on her, despicable. Turning her attention toward the redhead, Tonks leaned forward and placed her hand on the girls back. The redhead looked up, her red rimmed eyes caught Tonks' attention. Her eyes looked familiar, somehow.

"What's your name?" Tonks asked soothingly.

The girl whipped her eyes, "Lily." She huffed.

Lily Evans, Harry's mom!

"Can we talk? Only a few moments, and you can come straight back." Tonks bargained.

Lily sniffled and nodded, she let Tonks help her to her feet. They began for the door, but Tonks paused at the three Professors.

"I'm going to get to the bottom of this," she declared. "I swear."

Dumbledore's eye twinkled, though in happiness of Tonks' determination or in sorrow of the situation Tonks would never know. "I know you will."

** XXX**

"Thank you Tilly," Tonks said as she took the steaming mug from the house elf. "I'll call you over if we need anything else." The house elf, Tilly, beamed with happiness before leaving with a small bow.

Tonks had taken Lily to the kitchens, a place only a few students knew about so she was sure they wouldn't be interrupted. She leaned forward and placed the mug of hot chocolate in front of her dreary companion. "Here, drink up." She said. "Chocolate makes things better."

Lily gave Tonks a doubtful look before reaching forward to take a sip. "Who are you again?" She asked after she had swallowed the smallest bit of her drink possible.

"T-tank, Nova Tank. I'm kind of the security." Tonks had almost said her real name and was thankful that her fake name started with the same letter as her real one. Again she had to give herself approval over such an awesome alibi.

Lily nodded, "so you wanted to ask me some things?"

"Yes," Tonks began. "So, how do you know her? The girl?"

Lily took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Shannon is muggleborn, like I am. Both of us along with a few other muggleborns have this club where we can," she paused as she tried to think of a good way to explain it. "We understand each other, we're all new to this word and it's hard to go into it all alone." Lily let a few tears escape, "Shannon is the youngest, she doesn't deserve this."

Tonks patted lily's shoulder awkwardly. She had never been the best when it came to emotions, must've been a trait she got from her mentor, Mad Eye.

"Sorry," The younger girl huffed.

"No, no, it's fine. Cry all you need to." Tonks murmured. She then waited a bit until asking another question. "What house is Shannon in?"

"Ravenclaw," Lily said.

"Does she have any other friends outside your guy's club?"

"Yes, t-there's a girl named Olive and a boy named Mark. Both in her house." Lily looked up at Tonks. "You don't think they did this to her?"

"Doesn't hurt to check," Tonks avoided giving her opinion. She didn't want to let loose too much information even though she did trust Lily. That was one thing that had been engraved into her mind during her Auror training, avoid giving out any information.

Lily looked down into her mug sorrowfully. "May I go back now?"

"Two more questions and I'll let you go." Tonks responded. "Is there anyone that you think that would want to do this to Shannon?"

Lily shook her head.

"Okay, last question.' Tonks stated. "When is your next meeting for your club?"

Lily frowned, "why would you want to know that?"

"I want to come," Tonks said. "Not only because of Shannon, but because I think that this club is a genius idea and I want to help in every way I can to keep it going." Tonks was being truthful, she truly thought that this club was something that should forever be a part of Hogwarts, and she also feared that perhaps some of its members would put the murders going on outside of the castle and the attack on Shannon together and become afraid. Afraid to be a part of this club, afraid to be themselves. She couldn't let that happen.

"Friday, 5 o'clock." Lily said.

"I'll be there."

**XXX**

Tonks was currently stalking the halls. She was angry, and frustrated. Mainly because of Shannon. The poor girl had yet to wake up and Madam Pomfrey still didn't know why. It wouldn't be long until Shannon was shipped off to St. Mungos.

It was now lunch, but Tonks hadn't yet eaten today. She was too preoccupied to think about anything else other than how she should move forward with helping Shannon. Maybe she should find the girls friends next, perhaps they know anything. After that she will attend that meeting tomorrow night. But after that Tonks didn't know what else to do. Should she go through the records of detentions within the last month and see if anyone had been punished for any misuse of magic? Tonks groaned, the odds that that would work were slim.

Tonks paused, what was she doing exactly? Hadn't she told herself that she was going to stay out of the events of this time? That she would keep to herself until she could return home? She could be meddling in things that could be hindering her present. Why did she let herself become involved?

Even though she kept asking herself why, she already knew the answer. She just couldn't let this slip by. She couldn't hide in her room until her Time Turner was fixed, she wasn't the type to idly sit around. She had to be out there, doing something, helping someone. It was just her nature.

Tonks sighed, something she seemed to be doing a lot lately. She continued her stalking simply for something to do until she blindly ran into someone.

Stumbling back she said, "woah, sorry."

"No problem love, it happens." Her cousin replied.

Tonks felt an urge to roll her eyes but stopped herself. She looked at the group she had literally stumbled into and wondered why of all people it had to be this four.

"Are you not going to dinner?" Peter asked.

"Um, I've been a bit busy." Tonks handed out a lame exuse. She couldn't help but notice that Remus seemed to be avoiding her eye, and fought off another urge to roll her eyes.

"Is it Shannon?" James asked, "Lily has been worried about her. Have you found anything on who did it?"

Tonks looked at James and saw that he honestly wanted to know if she had made any progress. She decided to give him a simple answer, "no, not yet." That's when she got a brilliant idea. "If you guys see anything will you tell me? I need all the help I can get."

"Sure thing," Sirius sang. "We'll be like another set of eyes. Be sure to pop in anytime and we'll talk." He then gave her a wink.

Tonks gave her cousin an annoyed look, if only she could tell them that they were cousins maybe he wouldn't be such a flirt. But even that may not work. "Thank you guys."

**XXX**

AN:It's been awhile, but here's a long chapter. Started to get the plot going a bit. Finally Tonks met Lily, and Tonks was even a bit civil with McGonagall.

This is the first chapter with my fancy new laptop and I'm excited. So hopefully my grammar and stuff improves.

Also a shout out to my newest reviewer, thank you so much for reviewing and because of you I felt really motivated to write this chapter.

~thebluenotebook


	6. Chapter 6

YASWL Chapter 6

Tonks looked down upon her prodigies with a smirk on her face. They both looked back at her eagerly as they awaited their next set of instructions. Even though the two boys were only first years and she was a seventh year, they had become Tonks' closest friends and she wouldn't want it any other way.

"Are you up to your next task?" Tonks asked.

They both nodded with excitement, their long red hair bouncing.

"Are you sure? This one is quite challenging," Tonks quipped.

"Yes, we're sure," one said at the same time as the other said, "nothing is too challenging for us."

Tonks grinned at the twins before her, "alright then, off the find Peeves."

The first years nodded and followed after Tonks. After they had walked through a few corridors one of them spoke up. "Tonks, how are we going to get Peeves to work with us? You never explained that."

"Fred," Tonks began. "We have an amazing plan that's so unbelievably good that he would be stupid to turn us down."

"I don't think he'll listen. I think he'll just sound the alarm and throw his ghostly goo at us." George declared.

"He doesn't have goo," Fred told his brother. "And why didn't you say this before? You know what Tonks always says!"

"I know, I know! Teams don't keep things of each other." George said.

"Shh," Tonks hushed her team. "You'll get us all caught, talk quieter."

Tonks reached into her pocket to pull out the map and as she began to unfold it both twins called at the same time, "I wanna open it!"

Tonks gave them an annoyed look from both their volume and what they wanted. "I've got it." She declared. She pointed her wand at the map and murmured, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." As the ink began to appear she began searching for Peeves.

"Here," George pointed to the dot this the name Peeves. "He's in the dungeons."

"Let's go," Tonks said and they hurried off. They had only made it to the end of the hall way when they came face to face with Filch.

"Hey!" He yelled, "what are you doing out of bed?!"

"Run!" Tonks hollered.

All three of them scrambled and darted off in different directions. They had a plan just incase they got caught, and they all had a route to run to get rid of the aging caretaker. That was the easy part, the only flaw in their brilliant plan was Ms. Norris. The pesky cat was the only one that was able to keep up with them and always seemed to lead Filch right to them. Fortunately, Ms. Norris was no where in sight. They all ran their routes beautifully and ended up in front of the library huffing and puffing. Tonks arrived last and was thankful that they had escaped so easily. The twins were new at Hogwarts and new at breaking the rules. If they had gotten caught Tonks feared they would never break any rules ever again. Oh what a horrid thought!

"That was close," Fred said once he had caught his breath.

"Yeah," his brother agreed. "I didn't even hear him come up."

"Maybe we should call it a night," Tonks said. "Filch we still be looking for us and that's just too risky."

The twins looked disappointed but didn't argue, as a 7th year Tonks was far older than they were and they let her make the decisions. As the unofficial leader of their trouble making group, Tonks made most of the calls.

"Same time tomorrow?" Tonks asked.

Perking up they nodded, "Don't be late Nymphadora" They said in unison as they began towards Gryffindor tower.

**XXX**

Tonks awoke with a distasteful feeling. She kept having these dreams and they were reminding her of the fun she used to have. She wanted nothing more than to go back to when things were peaceful, back when she would pull pranks with the Weasley twins. Those were the days, the days she longed for.

She had to stop, she couldn't keep on like this. Wishing for something that wasn't coming isn't healthy. Longing isn't how she wanted to feel. She had to stop.

No more. She wouldn't think of war, she wouldn't think of home. She would think of what was happening now, and right now she had two students to interview.

**XXX**

"It's Snape."

"Sirius," James began in a tired voice.

"No, James." Sirius pleaded. "Hear me out. Who is involved in dark magic in the castle? Who is really good at curses? Who is a death eater?"

"Snape's a death eater?" Peter asked with fright.

"No Peter, he's not." Remus muttered.

"Yes he is!" Sirius said. "Voldemort needs followers, and he has connections here. For all we know all of Slytherin house are death eaters!"

The Marauders sat up in their dorm room discussing the task Tank had given them. They had been making progress until Sirius brought up Severus. The topic of what Severus had been up to the past summer had been a topic Sirius had thoroughly exhausted for the past two months and the other three were growing tired of it.

"Sirius please," James sighed.

"Don't," Sirius shook his head. "Trust me, I lived with these kind of people for 15 years James! If Snape isn't already a death eater than he will be before the end of the year."

"Let's focus, please." James pleaded.

"We can't just ignore this, I _will_ be telling Nova." Sirius declared.

"She likes to be called Tank." Remus said from the window. Remus had been quiet the entire conversation, only adding a few comments here and there which was odd for him. His friends knew this and had been leaving him alone, the days after the full moon were often difficult for him, but that didn't stop them from being suspicious.

"That's not even her real name, why does it matter?" Sirius asked.

"It's the name she wants to go by for whatever reason, and if we start acting like we know it's not her real name she'll wonder why." Remus explained. "We have an advantage over her, we shouldn't let it go."

"Why do we need to have an advantage over her?" James asked. "She seems harmless."

Remus paused, "just in case," he finally said after a few minutes.

"Remus it doesn't matter that she knows about your furry little problem," Sirius said as he stood from his bed and walked over to Remus.

"She probably already knew," Peter suggested in a small voice. "She's a part of the staff and they all know."

"Yeah, what Pete said." Sirius agreed.

"Remus you don't need to worry," James added.

Remus looked away from the window and to the faces of his friends. They were all comforting and he was happy for that, but he still had this feeling. He knew they had to be right, but that feeling, it wasn't something he could ignore. "I know, but…"

"Don't worry about it," Sirius patted Remus' head. "You're a good boy, yes you are. Nothing's going to happen, no no no." He cooed.

Remus swatted his hand away, "I'm not the dog, you are." He tried to sound annoyed but he was really fighting off laughter.

"What, me? I'm… a dog?!" Sirius exclaimed. He turned to the other two, "why was I never told?!"

"Mate, it wasn't something we could just tell you." James joined in.

"I… well, it explains a lot. No wonder I have this urge to chase my tail, and… Oh my god, tail, tail, tail, tail!" Sirius looked at his butt with wide eyes, before turning to Remus. Remus couldn't help but to laugh because he looked insane. Sirius then looked back at his butt and began to chase it. He barked and growled as he twirled. As he chased his behind he morphed into a real dog and continued to chase his tail.

"Okay, enough you guys. We need to help with finding Shannon's attacker." James said. "Lily's real shook up about this and we need to put an end to it."

The black dog stopped chasing his tail and looked at James. If it was possible, the dog seemed to frown at him before prancing forward and jumping on top of James. With a loud thunk, James hit the ground and the black dog began to lick him.

"Ah! Sirius! Stop it, that's gross!" He called. "Peter, get him off of me!"

"Nah," Peter said with a sly grin.

Before James could call out for anymore help Sirius stopped, he got off his friend and began to run around the dorm. He knocked over books, sent papers flying, and bumped into a mug filled with pumpkin juice. He jumped onto all the beds, pulled the blankets off, and threw pillows across the room. Soon the entire room was a wreck and Sirius came back to James who was still laying on the floor. No one had moved during Sirius' run, they had been too busy laughing.

Remus thought of himself lucky to have his friends, without them he didn't know what he would do.

**XXX**

Tonks had never been good at finding things, or people. That was one of the reasons she almost didn't make it as an Auror, well that and her clumsiness. So it was a miracle that she was able to find both Olive and Mark at the same time so fast. Within an hour Tonks had found them in the library and had sat down next to them.

"Hello," she said pleasantly. Both first years looked at her oddly so Tonks moved on, "I want to ask you some questions about Shannon."

The boy, Mark, froze. "We didn't do it, I swear! Shannon's a good friend of ours, we would never!"

"No, no, I don't think you did it. Relax." Tonks said.

Mark calmed down, he looked at his hands at bit embarrassed. Olive on the other hand did not, she looked at her friend with beady eyes before turning to Tonks, "pardon him, he's been a pit paranoid lately."

"Oh it's fine." Tonks thought it was a bit odd how sharp Olive was. "So it's alright if I ask a few questions?"

"Go ahead," Olive said. She placed down her quill and folded her hands over her paper.

"How long have you known Shannon?" Tonks asked. She too folded her hands on top of the table and leveled her eyes with Olive. Something was up with this girl, and Tonks was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Both Mark and I met her this year, on the train." Olive said. She too leveled her eyes with Tonks.

"And you're aware that she's muggleborn right?"

"Yes, she told us. And her ignorance to all things magical made it obvious." Olive said matter of factly.

Tonks looked away from Olive to Mark. He still had his head down, but he was peaking up at the two of them. Once he caught Tonks eye he immediately looked back down. This was odd behavior. "What about you Mark, did you know she was muggleborn?"

"Yes," he said quietly.

"And Mark can you think of anybody that dislikes Shannon? Or somebody that you think would've cursed her?"

Mark looked up at Olive, and they both shared a look. Finally Mark said, "no, nobody."

Olive too said, "she wasn't the type to make enemy's, nobody I can think of would ever try to harm her."

They both were hiding something. Their behavior gave that much away. But why would they want to hide anything? What's the point of that? Certainly it wasn't the two of them that placed the curse of Shannon, the curse was way too complex for two First years.

"Okay, thank you. I'll come by later if I have any more questions." Tonks knew she wouldn't be able to get much more out of them today, so she might as well stop while she's ahead.

"Okay, we'll be here." Olive said, leveling her eyes with Tonks' again.

Staring deeply back Tonks knew this girl wasn't going to make things easier for her.

**XXX**

"Ah, Ms. Tank, just the person I need to see."

Tonks was sitting on the steps of the school once again. She came here to get a moment of fresh air before she headed off to the muggleborn club. "Professor Dumbledore," she greeted. "What is it that you wanted to see me about?"

Dumbledore moved forward and sat on the step next to her, "Well, your payment. You are an employed staff member and you do earn a monthly salary."

"Oh yes," honestly Tonks had forgotten that she was in fact getting paid. It was a pleasant reminder though, she'll be able to go to Hogmeade the next trip. That was always an enjoy full trip.

"Should I pay you through the Ministry?" Dumbledore asked nocking the thoughts of candy shops and butterbeer from Tonks' mind.

"Um, n-no. That wouldn't be, um…" Tonks had to quickly think of an excuse on why she wouldn't be paid through the Ministry. Telling Dumbledore that she was a time traveler and not an Auror wasn't the reason she should give.

"Ah, I see." Dumbledore murmured. Tonks held her breath, what did he see? "The Ministry still isn't fully behind the idea of you working here and a pay check won't help now will it?"

"Y-yes, they might see that I'm working so little and getting twice the amount of money that I would normally be getting, you know I still am working in the Auror Office. The Ministry is strict with money." Tonks blubbered.

"Yes, I understand. I'll send it directly to Gringotts."

"I, no." Tonks turned to Dumbledore. "I don't have…"

"Oh, well then that's fine. A few letters and I can set one up for you. I'll do that now, and of course you will have to go in to finalize it, but that's later." Dumbledore smiled at Tonks before standing up. "It was a pleasure Ms. Tank."

As he was walking away Tonks shot up and ran after. "Wait, Professor!"

"Yes?" Dumbledore paused and looked back.

"About my time turner. Have you…"

"Oh, yes. I believe I have found a seller for the sand that you've lost. I suppose it will be faster than we thought." Dumbledore winked at Tonks before turning away.

Tonks had to fight the smile that was emerging, but couldn't help it. She would be going home soon, maybe that thought would keep off the dreams she was having. Oh she hoped.

Unbeknownst to Tonks was the four set of feet that were hidden in the corner. They didn't seem to be connected to anything, they were just feet that appeared out of nowhere, and the owners were very shocked by what they overheard.

**XXX**

AN: I really wanted to get another chapter out before I went back to school so here it is! And wow, thanks for all the reviews! One of you had some questions so I'll try to answer them.

The beginning of the story starts during the battle of the department of mysteries. And Remus wouldn't remember or recognize Tonks back before she found the time turner because she hadn't gone back in time yet, so everything that's happening with Tonks in the story now is new. Hopefully that makes since...

Any more questions and I'll be happy to answer them, just ask. ~thebluenotebook


	7. Chapter 7

YASWL 7

Tonks was settled into the corner, ready to quietly listen to the teens around her. There were far less than she had pictured, only five students. She wondered if there had been more but had been scared away by Shannon's attacker. A glance at Lily confirmed her question, the young woman looked around the room in a disappointed manner, she sighed and let her eyes fall to the ground. She remained quiet for a moment before speaking up and catching their attention.

"Okay, let's call this meeting. What's first on the agenda?"

The room was silent, they just continued to look at Lily.

"What," she asked a bit flustered. "Nobody has anything?"

The five remained silent. Finally a third year stood. He was tall and skinny, with short blond hair. He was dressed in muggle clothes underneath his Ravenclaw robes. For a moment he just stood there, as if he was contemplating if he should sit back down again or not. Finally he turned to Tonks, "why did you come?"

Tonks fidgeted as everyone turned to look at her. "Erm…" she mumbled. "I wanted to see your club."

"Because of Shannon?" The boy asked.

Tonks didn't know how to respond, she hadn't expected them to be so forward with her. Luckily Lily cut in before Tonks said something stupid.

"Eddy, she's not here just because of Shannon-"

"Cut the crap Lily!" Called out the girl sitting next to Eddy. "When has anyone ever taken interest in us? How long has this club been going on, and how many teachers have taken an interest during that time?"

Lily was quiet, she looked at the girl for a moment before nodding. She then turned to Tonks, "the stage is yours."

When Tonks had decided to come to this meeting she hadn't expected it to turn out like this, she had expected to just be a fly on the wall for most of the meeting, but nevertheless she stood before the group. She took in the looks of the students, she could feel their anxiousness and worry. Shannon's attack had effected them more than she realized.

"I am here because of Shannon, I'm trying to find out who is behind her attack." Tonks paused, she felt their mood drop, they had been expecting more. "But I also want to help all of you."

"Sad that it took an attack to bring attention to us," remarked a large boy that sat on the other side Eddy.

"Yes, it is, and I'm sorry." Tonks replied. "But I'm here now, and I won't leave until you have the attention you all deserve." That was one thing Tonks had decided. Even if Dumbledore was able to fix her time turner tomorrow she couldn't leave just yet. She couldn't leave these teens, and if she changed her present, well, then so be it.

**XXX**

"Remus was right, we do need something to hold against her."

"No we don't," James told Sirius. "Calm yourself."

"I can't," Sirius huffed. "A time traveler! That's why she's hiding her real name." Sirius was pacing the isle in the library while Remus was set to work. James leaned against a set of books watching as Sirius would walk into their view and then disappear behind a set of books. His pacing was starting to get on his nerves.

"Yes, Sirius." James idly told his best friend.

"Filch," Peter whispered as he looked up from the map.

James was the one to take action, he cut the light off and shh'd Sirius. The four then stood in the dark for staring at the map. In the dim light they watched Filch's dot walk past the library and round the corner. It was only a few minutes until curfew and Filch would be all too happy to shoo them up to Gryffindor tower. As soon as they were sure he was gone James turned the lamp back on and Sirius resumed his pacing, Peter went back to the map, and Remus continued riffling through the books.

"She must be here for a reason," Sirius said. "Maybe she has a plan for Voldemort?"

"You're over thinking things," James said with the roll of his eyes.

"I've found it!" Remus exclaimed. All the boys immediately stopped what they were doing and gathered around Remus. Pointing to the page Remus read off the information, "Nymphadora Tonks, half-blood, born 1973. That makes her about, four years old." Remus looked up at his friends for a moment.

"So she's definitely a time traveler." Sirius stated.

Remus nodded and turned back to the book. "Born to Andromeda and Edward Tonks-"

Sirius cut him off with a dramatic moan.

"What?" Peter asked.

"She's my cousin." He replied dramatically. "Andromeda ran off with this muggle-born guy and I haven't heard from her since. I didn't even know she had a kid."

"So you think we can still trust her?" Peter asked.

Sirius shrugged, "Andromeda was one of the few pure-bloods that didn't except the pure-blood way of life, so one thing we can be sure of is that Nymphadora doesn't care for blood status."

"But why is she here?" Remus said as he turned away from the book.

"Guess we should find out." James stated with a slight smirk.

**XXX**

Tonks felt as if she hadn't accomplished anything, sure she had talked to a few people, but she didn't feel any closer to finding Shannon's attacker. Tonks sat in her office mindlessly tapping her fingers on her desk. What did she know?

Tonks reached forward and grabbed a scrap of paper, she needed to make a list of what she did know. Then, maybe she could figure out her next steps.

She picked up a quill and wrote down the first line.

_Muggle-born attacked, left to die._

Tonks nodded to herself and moved to write more.

_No known enemy's._

_Friends (Olive and Mark) suspicious._

_Muggle-born group supportive but know nothing._

_Muggle-born group needs to be monitored._

It wasn't much, in fact it wasn't really anything at all. The only worthwhile information was that Olive and Mark know something and are refusing to tell. It was frustrating. Talking to the muggle-born group the night before had only added more things to the list of responsibilities. She had vowed that she would show up to every meeting, and help them gain members. Although it was a worthwhile trip, it didn't bring her any closer to the attacker like she'd hoped.

With a sigh she stood from her desk and walked to the window hoping to ease her mind. She watched as students walked through the grounds and down to Hogmeade. Was it really so far into the year that it was time for the first Hogsmeade trip? Where had the time gone?

Tonks smiled to herself and rushed back to her desk, she opened a small compartment and pulled out a small bag with coins. It wasn't much, and perhaps would only get her a few sweets and a butterbeer, but it would do. She then grabbed her cloak and skipped out the door. She was off to Hogsmeade.

It had been years since she had fully enjoyed a Hogsmeade trip, but it was exactly a she remembered it. Students of all ages gathered in every corner, giggling girls and cheery guys. This was the one place on earth that was heaven for everyone.

Walking through the town Tonks noticed out of the corner of her eye a salon, and it caused her to pause. She recalled that she had told herself that she needed her hair cut, and without another thought was walking towards the place. She stood in the doorway before she realized what she was doing.

"Hello!" Called a cheery voice from behind the desk. It was an older woman with neatly curled hair.

"Er, hi." Tonks mumbled. What was she doing? If she spent her money here then she'd have to cut back on the sweets, or even a butterbeer. It was gasp worthy.

"Would you like a cut?" The woman asked.

She would, but did she really? "Yes." Why did she say that? What was pulling her toward this? Why didn't she just say no and come back next month when she had the money Dumbledore told her he'd but in the bank for her?

"Well, come over. Have a seat." Tonks mindlessly followed orders and plopped down in front of the mirror. "What are you thinking?"

Tonks stared at her reflection. What was she thinking? Since when had she really cared about her hair? "Um, short. Really short."

"How short?" The woman asked as she pulled Tonks' shoulder length hair up as if she was picturing how short it would be.

"Like roll out of bed and I don't have to do anything, like a boy," Tonks mumbled.

"Okay," the woman said cheerfully as she set to work. All too soon Tonks was looking in the mirror again and seeing herself. For some odd reason she felt better, much more relaxed. It was soothing to get your hair cut. And as she looked at herself she had to note that she looked good too. Short hair fit her, even if it would give her mother an excuse to complain.

"I think it would look even better with color, don't you think?" The hairdresser prodded.

Tonks then realized that she hadn't changed her hair color that day, that she had her natural mousey brown color. She had been so busy that she had forgotten to give it some color. Tonks glanced around until she noticed some hair product in front of her and smiled at the bubblegum pink color. Staring at it deeply for a moment she changed her hair to the flashy color, surprising the hair dresser behind her.

"Oh, you're a metamorphmagus." She said a bit bitterly.

"Yeah," Tonks nodded as she admired her hair. She had been questioning herself at first, but now she was happy that she had gone through with the cut.

Tonks paid the woman and quickly left the salon, she needed to get to Honeydukes before the chocolate frogs were gone, but soon as she stepped outside a gang of seventh years pounced on her.

"Hey, Tank. Funny that we would meet you here." Sirius commented as he draped an arm over her shoulders.

"What are the odds," Tonks replied sarcastically.

"We were on our way for some butterbeer, would you like to come?" James asked.

"No, not really."

"Well we were hoping to talk about Shannon." James added.

Tonks paused. She did want to find out more about Shannon, but she also wanted some chocolate. "Buy me a butterbeer?"

"Done." Sirius said as he began to lead her towards the Three Broomsticks. The five of them sat down in a corner and Peter agreed to get them all drinks. Once Tonks had taken a gulp she then turned towards the boys.

"So what do you got for me?" She asked.

"Snape," Sirius quickly spat out.

Tonks sighed, "really? That's it?" Even though Snape was a shifty guy, she didn't think he pulled it off. In her time he was one of the most trusted people by Dumbledore and that was a hard place to be if you had attacked a student your seventh year.

"No, Sirius is just being Sirius." Remus stated. "And we wanted to talk about some other things first."

Tonks took another gulp of her drink, "go ahead."

"Who are you?" Remus leaned forward as he said it.

Tonks glanced at him, "Nova Tank, head of security."

"No." Remus leaned forward even more.

"Yes," Tonks responded by leaning forward also.

They were nearly nose to nose when he said, "then who is Nymphadora Tonks?"

Tonks leaned back and stiffened. "Nobody, why do you ask?"

"Because that's your name." James joined in.

"Said who?"

"The map." Remus said.

"What map?"

"The map you gave us?" Remus repeated slowly.

"A map gave you the name Nymphadora Tonks?" Tonks kept her face in a doubtful expression and she was thankful that she was good concealing her emotions, a trait she had learned from her mother.

"Yes, the map!"

"Who would name their child Nymphadora? That's an odd name, even for the wizarding world." Tonks was trying to talk her way out of this and so far it seemed to be working.

"Your parents, because that's your name." Remus pressed.

Tonks glanced at the other three and saw that they were eagerly listening, watching as the two bantered back and forth. "Was this all you wanted to do? Accuse me of being a person named Nymphadora? You must've misread your map."

"No, because Nymphadora exists, we checked. She's in the book, she'll get her letter when she turns 11." Remus stated. He gave a slight smirk as if he had finally proved that she was indeed who he thought she was.

"Then how is she me if she's younger than 11? Do I look like I'm under 11?"

"You're a time traveler!" Remus said happily.

Tonks paused, how the hell had he found out? "Why would you think that?" Her voice shook a bit when she spoke.

"You spoke with Dumbledore about a broken time turner," Remus sat a bit straighter and smiled down at Tonks.

"A time turner? Really? That's what you have?" Tonks spoke evenly, still trying to get her way out of this. "You do know how difficult it is to get a time turner? Papers, upon papers, dozens of signatures, and months to years even to get one." At her words Remus' smirk faded just a bit. "And even if I did have one, and even if I was Nymphadora, why would I come here to work at Hogwarts? Of all the places I could go, why would I go to a school in a time that was one the brink of war?"

Tonks looked at all four boys evenly, knowing that she had at least created a _bit_ of doubt in them. And that was all she needed, at least for now.

"Is there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?"

The boys shook their heads. Tonks nodded and stood, with one last gulp from her butterbeer she finished it off. "I'll see you later then."

**XXX**

It was nearing nightfall, and the last of the students had returned to the castle. Tonks was in the process of closing the doors when McGonagall approached her.

"Miss Tank," she said politely.

"McGonagall," Tonks nodded as the doors shut with a soft bang.

"Dumbledore is holding a meeting in his office and he wishes for you to be there," McGonagall said a bit crossly.

"A meeting?" Tonks asked. "It can't wait till the staff meeting tomorrow?"

McGonagall pursed her lips, "this is a private meeting, only for a few select staff members."

"Oh," Tonks didn't know how to respond. She certainly had never expected to be invited to a _private secret meeting_. "Okay."

"Come along," McGonagall said before marching off, and Tonks quickly hurried after. The short walk was awkward, her former teacher didn't say a single word the entire time. She couldn't figure out why she seemed to hate her, what reason would she have?

After they had reached the winding staircase, McGonagall led them to the door and still without another word opened it. Inside was a small group of Professors and a few others that Tonks didn't recognize. Whatever this meeting was for, it had to be important enough that Dumbledore would invite people to the school.

"Ah, McGonagall, Tank." Dumbledore greeted. "Great, now that we're all here we can start."

"Why have you called us here Dumbledore?" Croaked a voice from the corner. Tonks let her eyes drift over to the source of the voice and nearly gasped at who it belonged to. It was no other than Mad Eye Moody, the very person who led her through her Auror training. He looked the same as she remembered, scars crisscrossed his face, his hair a mess, and the obvious fake eye that twirled around unnaturally. As she continued to look at him she noticed something that she had never seen him with before, he had two legs! Whatever had caused him to lose a leg must've not happened yet.

"Well Moody," Dumbledore began catching Tonks' attention. "I'm here to talk to you all about Tom Riddle."

Mad Eye gave a board huff and rolled his real eye. A few others around the room gave similar reactions.

"I know that I've talked about this many times, but now it's different." Dumbledore spoke loudly, cutting off all the groans from around the room. "It has spread to the school, a student has been attacked."

The room fell silent. They all stared at Dumbledore with shocked faces, and solemn glances.

"We have to do something!"

"And what do you propose we do, Professor?" Moody asked a bit sarcastically.

"The Order of the Phoenix." Dumbledore stated. Tonks felt shock shoot through her body, she was here, at the very first meeting. Should she even be here? Is she ruining the time line?

"The what?" Moody croaked.

"Everyday people are being attacked and the Ministry is doing nothing. We need to do something, we need to act."

"Dumbledore," called out a soft voice. Tonks looked over and saw Slughorn. "I understand your need to help but… Dumbledore this is dangerous talk, and I'd prefer to… to keep to my teaching if you don't mind."

Dumbledore nodded, "Of course Horace, don't feel obliged to stay. And that goes to anyone here." Dumbledore looked a bit on edge, and that was a new look to Tonks. Never before had she seen the man as anything but entirely sure of himself and it was worrying.

Slughorn gave a nod to Dumbledore before quickly leaving. He was followed by a few others, just a few faces Tonks didn't recognize. By the time they had left only a handful of people remained. It was disappointing to Tonks, she hadn't know what to expect, but she had believed that more people would be willing to be involved.

"So the rest of you," Dumbledore continued. "I take it you're interested?"

"The Order of the Pheonix," commented a woman to Tonks' left. "What an odd name, did you come up with it by your self Albus?"

Dumbledore gave a small smile, "well, I'd say Fawkes had a bit to do with it."

"Well, then what's first on the list?"

**XXX**

AN: Yo, yo, yo. Here I am! Man I wrote this one quickly! And this has to be the longest one I've written so far! I think it kinda has a lot to do with that fact that I should be studying for finals, but whatever.

I'm giving a shoutout to Arya Lupin, who is by far the most supportive reviewer I've ever had. So SO to you!

So, the Order is making an appearance. Lily and her club made their appearance. And we're getting a bit closer with the Marauders. Man oh man! Anyone have any predictions? Any comments? Be sure to leave them!


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